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Toxic dinoflagellates reach Australia in ships' ballast
Marine Pollution Bulletin
Bottom sediments and marine animals will now be sampled from a wider area, so that a better picture of the total area contaminated and the degree of accumulation by the fauna can be obtained. The actual concentrations of dioxin demonstrated were so alarming that the public has been warned not to eat blue mussels, cod liver, eels, and crabs from the Frier0ord area. The analysis shows that discharges of dioxin from magnesium production have to be reduced dramatically. Before the last results were presented the Norwegian State Pollution Control Authority (SPCA) had established a new procedure to gain better control of the discharges from the oldest part of the factory. The owner Norsk Hydro, however, would not accept these new procedures. The SPCA decision was appealed to the department of environment and Norsk Hydro threatened to close down the oldest part of the factory if the SPCA decision was not terminated. This closedown would affect the place of work for 250 men. However, the Department of Environment maintained the SPCA decision. Norsk Hydro has now closed down the oldest part of the factory. This is the first time in history in Norway that concern for the environment has been considered more important than places of employment! SPCA has required Norsk Hydro to present a plan for reducing the total discharges from the rest of the factory. LARS-OTTO R E I E R S E N PER ERIK I V E R S E N
TBT Contamination in Japan On 10 August 1988, the Japanese Environmental Agency officially announced the last fiscal year's monitoring results of tributyltin (TBT) pollution in biological samples collected from 17 locations over the country. Of the 85 fish and shellfish samples analysed, TBT was detected in 37 specimens--a situation showing a slight improvement in general contamination of these compounds. However, a high frequency of detection is still recorded in the samples from heavily industrialized areas such as Tokyo Bay, Osaka Bay, and Seto Inland Sea. Noticeably, very high levels of 1.1-1.3 ppm, were found in sea bass collected from Seto Inland Sea, which exceeded, the tentative acceptable level of 0.89 ppm recommended by the Ministry of Welfare. The special committee of Central Council of Countermeasures for Environmental Hazards emphasized the necessity for continuous monitoring surveys and addressed the need for improvement in the present situation. SHINSUKE TANABE
Toxic Dinoflagellates Reach Australia in Ships' Ballast High levels of the toxins responsible for paralytic shellfish poisoning have resulted in the closure of a number of oyster farms in Tasmania, Australia for up to 8 500
months. The toxic dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum has been identified as the causative organism, apparently introduced to Australian waters in the ballast water and sediment of foreign cargo vessels. As part of its life cycle this dinoflagellate produces a resistant resting cyst which can, in the appropriate conditions, seed a new plankton bloom in the water column. A survey by the CSIRO Division of Fisheries indicates that the distribution of G. catenatum and its resting cyst in Tasmanian waters is closely related to ports used by Japanese cargo vessels. Sediment samples collected from the ballast holds of Japanese woodchip vessels in Tasmania also contained viable cysts. G. catenatum has been known from Japanese waters since 1967, and the widespread practice of dumping ballast waters and accumulated sediments in the ports and harbours seems to have been responsible for its recent introduction to Tasmania. The results of the CSIRO survey have alerted fisheries managers to the need for control of the discharge of foreign ships' ballast water and sediment, particularly inshore and near mariculture areas.
Italian Eutrophication Group 48 of the COST (European Cooperation in Scientific and Technological Research) works specifically in marine primary biomass, a sector which also includes the production of economically interesting algae. A meeting of this group was held in Italy on 6-7 May 1988 for the purpose of visiting sites of economically important sea weeds. It was announced that the red alga Gracilaria used in agar production prospers in both the lagoon of Venice and that of Orbetello in Tuscany. Thus there was bitter disappointment at the discovering that the Venice lagoon suffers from a serious process of eutrophication which provokes the recession of valuable sea weeds and the proliferation of some unwanted green algae. In the Orbetello lagoon the situation is even more dramatic, with overgrowing of green algae of the genus Chaetomorpha. The local authorities have purchased two barges equipped with a motor-driven algae cutter for cleaning the lagoon. However, it was obvious that even if the barges were working day and night, the proliferation of green algae could not be stopped. Clearly, both lagoons must be rescued from eutrophication by reducing the sources of organic pollution and favouring, by appropriate steps, water circulation, as already suggested by competent scientists. The lagoon rescue would be beneficial not only for the environment but also for the agar industry. In addition, its recovery will be profitable to the tourist trade. A solution for this serious environmental problem is urgently needed.
Seal Virus Identified Dutch researchers have identified the virus responsible for the deaths of thousands of North Sea seals as being the same virus which causes canine distemper. Since first reported in Mar. Pollut. Bull. 19, 351, the virus has
Bottom sediments and marine animals will now be sampled from a wider area, so that a better picture of the total area contaminated and the degree of accumulation by the fauna can be obtained. The actual concentrations of dioxin demonstrated were so alarming that the public has been warned not to eat blue mussels, cod liver, eels, and crabs from the Frier0ord area. The analysis shows that discharges of dioxin from magnesium production have to be reduced dramatically. Before the last results were presented the Norwegian State Pollution Control Authority (SPCA) had established a new procedure to gain better control of the discharges from the oldest part of the factory. The owner Norsk Hydro, however, would not accept these new procedures. The SPCA decision was appealed to the department of environment and Norsk Hydro threatened to close down the oldest part of the factory if the SPCA decision was not terminated. This closedown would affect the place of work for 250 men. However, the Department of Environment maintained the SPCA decision. Norsk Hydro has now closed down the oldest part of the factory. This is the first time in history in Norway that concern for the environment has been considered more important than places of employment! SPCA has required Norsk Hydro to present a plan for reducing the total discharges from the rest of the factory. LARS-OTTO R E I E R S E N PER ERIK I V E R S E N
TBT Contamination in Japan On 10 August 1988, the Japanese Environmental Agency officially announced the last fiscal year's monitoring results of tributyltin (TBT) pollution in biological samples collected from 17 locations over the country. Of the 85 fish and shellfish samples analysed, TBT was detected in 37 specimens--a situation showing a slight improvement in general contamination of these compounds. However, a high frequency of detection is still recorded in the samples from heavily industrialized areas such as Tokyo Bay, Osaka Bay, and Seto Inland Sea. Noticeably, very high levels of 1.1-1.3 ppm, were found in sea bass collected from Seto Inland Sea, which exceeded, the tentative acceptable level of 0.89 ppm recommended by the Ministry of Welfare. The special committee of Central Council of Countermeasures for Environmental Hazards emphasized the necessity for continuous monitoring surveys and addressed the need for improvement in the present situation. SHINSUKE TANABE
Toxic Dinoflagellates Reach Australia in Ships' Ballast High levels of the toxins responsible for paralytic shellfish poisoning have resulted in the closure of a number of oyster farms in Tasmania, Australia for up to 8 500
months. The toxic dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum has been identified as the causative organism, apparently introduced to Australian waters in the ballast water and sediment of foreign cargo vessels. As part of its life cycle this dinoflagellate produces a resistant resting cyst which can, in the appropriate conditions, seed a new plankton bloom in the water column. A survey by the CSIRO Division of Fisheries indicates that the distribution of G. catenatum and its resting cyst in Tasmanian waters is closely related to ports used by Japanese cargo vessels. Sediment samples collected from the ballast holds of Japanese woodchip vessels in Tasmania also contained viable cysts. G. catenatum has been known from Japanese waters since 1967, and the widespread practice of dumping ballast waters and accumulated sediments in the ports and harbours seems to have been responsible for its recent introduction to Tasmania. The results of the CSIRO survey have alerted fisheries managers to the need for control of the discharge of foreign ships' ballast water and sediment, particularly inshore and near mariculture areas.
Italian Eutrophication Group 48 of the COST (European Cooperation in Scientific and Technological Research) works specifically in marine primary biomass, a sector which also includes the production of economically interesting algae. A meeting of this group was held in Italy on 6-7 May 1988 for the purpose of visiting sites of economically important sea weeds. It was announced that the red alga Gracilaria used in agar production prospers in both the lagoon of Venice and that of Orbetello in Tuscany. Thus there was bitter disappointment at the discovering that the Venice lagoon suffers from a serious process of eutrophication which provokes the recession of valuable sea weeds and the proliferation of some unwanted green algae. In the Orbetello lagoon the situation is even more dramatic, with overgrowing of green algae of the genus Chaetomorpha. The local authorities have purchased two barges equipped with a motor-driven algae cutter for cleaning the lagoon. However, it was obvious that even if the barges were working day and night, the proliferation of green algae could not be stopped. Clearly, both lagoons must be rescued from eutrophication by reducing the sources of organic pollution and favouring, by appropriate steps, water circulation, as already suggested by competent scientists. The lagoon rescue would be beneficial not only for the environment but also for the agar industry. In addition, its recovery will be profitable to the tourist trade. A solution for this serious environmental problem is urgently needed.
Seal Virus Identified Dutch researchers have identified the virus responsible for the deaths of thousands of North Sea seals as being the same virus which causes canine distemper. Since first reported in Mar. Pollut. Bull. 19, 351, the virus has